All hail the taxi app

Source: Journal Star, Peoria, Ill.自存倉Sept. 06--PEORIA -- Now you can catch a taxi in Peoria without waving your arm or calling the cab company.With the NexTaxi app, hailing a cab is as close as your smartphone, said John Franks, owner of Peoria Yellow Checker Cab in Peoria, a company with more than 20 taxi cabs in operation."It's completely voice-free. The app allows you to order, track and pay for your ride all through your phone," he said.The technology is relatively new, so there aren't too many people using their smartphone to call cabs right now -- probably fewer than 100 -- but that number is growing, said Franks, who's run the business since 2006, taking over for his father, who bought the taxi franchise in 1986.It's not the first computer innovation for the company, he said. "We purchased a computerized dispatch system in 2007. Dispatchers enter an order, and the computer chooses the best taxi based on GPS positioning and dispatches the cab," said Franks."In 2011, with the tablet revolution, we upgraded our system with Universal Tranware, the company that produces NexTaxi, the e-hailing app," he said."Our drivers have tablet computers right in the cab. They receive messages from dispatch as well as from a customer," said Franks.Earl Epstein, the co-founder and chief technology officer for Tucson, Ariz.-based Universal Tranware, said the app used in Peoria is now available in 50 cities across the country and in Canada."Our core business has been working with taxi fleets for 20 years. Now we have a mobile application that allows you to arrange a ride with that fleet," he said.While hailing a cab by phone has brought a number of players to the electronic cab stand -- companies like Uber, Hailo and Lyft- NexTaxi is the only app that links you to established tax迷你倉新蒲崗 companies, said Epstein."Rogue cabs that come into the market can be a problem. We only deal with established fleets," he said.The NexTaxi app is free to download from Apple and Google, said Epstein.The new technology serves the Peoria area well, said Franks. "Peoria is a cab town, but we don't do much of a flag-down business here," he said, referring to cabs hailed from the street."Usually there's a direct connection with regular customers who use cabs to go to the store or a medical appointment. We also do lots of business with the hotels," said Franks.With NexTaxi, a customer can order a cab and then track its progress to the pickup destination. "You know when the taxi gets there; it alerts you," he said."We have corporate people coming into Peoria that can now request a taxi while they're on their plane," said Franks, adding that another opportunity for Peoria Yellow Checker is weekend business -- between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. -- for people at clubs who don't want to -- or can't -- drive, said Franks."We're hoping that younger customers -- those in their 20s who use their smartphones for almost everything -- will find this to be a nice feature," he said."Our goal is to keep up with the evolving business that's going on in Peoria," said Franks.Peoria Yellow Checker Cab company driver James Hardin displays the device in his cab that receives the information transmitted by the user of NexTaxi, an app that allows customers to hail a cab through their smartphone.Steve Tarter can be reached at 686-3260 or starter@pjstar.com. Follow his blog, Minding Business, on pjstar.com and follow him on Twitter @SteveTarter.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Journal Star (Peoria, Ill.) Visit the Journal Star (Peoria, Ill.) at .PJStar.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉出租